Korean Major

Satement of Purpose

Korean is a language spoken by about 75 million people, ranking just ahead of French in numbers of native speakers. The purpose of the Korean major at BYU is to help students develop competence in the language in the four major areas of language function—speaking, listening, reading and writing.

Students in the major will learn language, language theory (linguistics), literature, history, and culture. The program aims to help students acquire sufficient competence to use the language as a primary tool in such areas as law and business, or to work for the government in translation or analysis, or to use the language as a secondary tool to support skills in business, legal, government, or other professional settings in Korea.

In specific ways, the Korean major can be the primary tool for an employee in government or business, or in general ways, the major will help the student develop understanding and respect for Korea and Korean people. The program also supports the mission of Brigham Young University and its sponsoring institution, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter–day Saints, by helping students develop academic skills and competencies in a faith–based setting which is also committed to the development of personal character and integrity. more...

Learning Outcomes

Graduates of the Korean major will be able to:
1. analyze and discuss important aspects of Korean history, literature, and culture. (Direct Measures 4,6)
2. speak and comprehend Korean proficiently in both formal and informal settings at the ACTFL Advanced level. (Direct Measure 1)
3. read hangul texts at the ACTFL Advanced level and write hangul texts at the ACTFL Intermediate High level or higher. (Direct Measures 2,3)
4. read Sino-Korean texts with the help of character dictionaries, and demonstrate the ability to read, without dictionaries, approximately 800 Sino-Korean characters in the context of newspapers, professional journals, and other mixed-script texts. (Direct Measure 4)
5. analyze and discuss major literary works from the pre-modern and modern period. (Direct Measures 5,6)
6. coherently translate both literary and expository texts. (Direct Measure 6)
7. carry out research, apply critical reasoning skills, and write clearly and cohesively in English. (Direct Measures 5,6)
8. read and discuss pre-modern forms of the Korean language and script. (Direct Measure 6)
9. analyze and discuss aspects of the structure of the Korean language, including phonology, morphology, semantics, and pragmatics. (Direct Measure 6)
10. demonstrate self-managed learning skills that will enable them to continue learning the language throughout their lives, including the effective use of dictionaries, both in print and online, and other reference works. (Indirect Measures 2,3)

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Program Requirements:

Click here for the BA Korean MAP

Additional information can be found here